Revolutionary War Case Gin Bottle, ca. 1740 – 1780 (SOLD)

This is a beautiful 18^th century bottle being offered; it is a dark case-gin and measures 9 ½” high, 2 ½” at the base, and 3 ½” wide at the top. It has the open-pontil base and a nicely distorted string rim/lip. These bottles feature the distinctive slanted sides that taper from top to bottom, forming a base that is narrower than the bottle's shoulder.

Such bottles, originally produced with straight sides, were often filled with liquor, and at the end of the 17th century were being shipped to the American colonies from England. The square design permitted the convenient fitting of 4 to 12 bottles into a wooden packing crate. By the 18th century, the term "case bottle" was being used.

During this period, such bottles often holding Dutch gin, are said to have been employed as trade goods, sometimes utilized to mediate the exchanges in the transatlantic slave trade.

The most popular color for case gins is olive green, such as this example, although they are also found in clear, amber, and cobalt blue. Similar bottles often bore seals bearing the name of the importer or distributor.

There are examples of these bottles in “Collector’s Illustrated Encyclopedia of the American Revolution”, by Neumann & Kravic and shards of gin bottles in the Fort Ticonderoga Collection (see pictures). This bottle is in excellent condition, showing the beautiful dark green color and the textures and air bubbles consistent with early glass.